


GPF High School

by RivDeV



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Teachers, Fluff, High School Teachers, M/M, Romance, Workplace Dynamics, dancer yuuri
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-01
Updated: 2016-12-13
Packaged: 2018-09-03 16:02:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8720017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RivDeV/pseuds/RivDeV
Summary: Yuuri already knows that he didn’t get the GPF High School’s open gym teacher position, but what he’s not expecting is for it to be filled by Victor Nikiforov.Teaching at a high school is hard work, but it's made even more difficult when one of your co-workers is so hot he could melt ice.





	1. First Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> I'm a sucker for AU's. And I felt like this one just had to be done. (Almost) all the skaters are teachers at GPF High School.

Yuuri already knows that he didn’t get the GPF High School’s open gym teacher position, but what he’s not expecting is for it to be filled by Victor Nikiforov. 

Halfway through the school year, one of GPF High’s gym teachers has a heart attack and has to retire. Yuuri’s been waiting for years now to make a bid for a secure teaching position like that, but even though he’s already teaching full-time at the school, he doesn't get the job. He blames it on the extra weight he’s put on since he left University that makes him undesirable as a Phys Ed role model.

However, when Victor Nikiforov walks through the doors into their staff meeting on Wednesday morning, Yuuri can’t blame their Principal for hiring him. He would have too. 

He can’t help the blush that rises to his cheeks as Victor smiles and waves at the staff around the table. He cuts a handsome figure standing up in front of all of them. His smile is wide and genuine, and his features are far more attractive than anyone but a model should have, and his body is something Greek stories have expounded about. 

Truth be told, Yuuri has had a crush on Victor since he saw him skate ten years ago. Victor was a rising star in the figure skating world, slated to become the next champion for Russia, when a horrible car accident had shattered his ankle and ruined any chance at a professional figure skating career. 

Of all the things for Victor to end up doing, teaching high school gym was the last thing Yuuri expected.

“This is Victor Nikiforov,” Principal Yakov Feltsman tells them. “He’s been hired to fill our Phys. Ed. opening for the rest of the year. Please make him feel welcome.”

“Wooooow,” Yuko coos from beside him. “Isn’t he the one you had a crush on in high school?”

“Uuurrggh,” Yuuri responds. It’s just like Yuko to bring that up. Of course she’d remember him mentioning that when he was drunk at her place months ago. He reminds himself to never drink with Yuko again because he’s only been far too willing to spill all his dirty secrets to her when he’s intoxicated. Some role model she is for kids - getting her fellow teachers wasted on school nights. 

“Wait, wait, what?” Phichit asks on Yuuri’s other side. He’s obviously overheard Yuko talking to Yuuri. “That’s Victor? THE Victor?”

Yuuri groans again and drops his head to the table. Phichit knows more than Yuko does about his crush because they did go through four years of University together and he has no one but himself to blame for those drunk confessions. 

“Mr. ‘the only person I’ve ever been sexually attracted to’?” Phichit confirms. 

“Yes.” Yuuri bites out from between clenched teeth. “Can you shut up now, please?”

“What’s going on?” Guang-Hong whispers from beside Phichit. 

“Don’t you dare,” Yuuri warns his friend. The last thing he needs is for the entire staff of GPF High to know about his unrequited love of their brand new teacher. 

“My, my,” Celestino, their councilor, mutters from a couple seats over. “How lucky GPF is to have such young, attractive teachers.”

Yuuri has to agree. GPF High School is pretty large, requiring several teachers per subject, but the school is divided. Most of the teachers are veterans that have been teaching for years. They’re not old, per say, but not young either. Then there’s a third of them, the young ones - just under 30, who are only a couple years into teaching and, frankly, more attractive than your conventional teacher would be. The school board for the city always makes fun of GPF for only hiring young attractive teachers. Their students don’t complain, and the school board doesn’t either because they are all proficient at their jobs. 

Yuuri supposes he fits with the ‘young teachers’ group, but only because of his age. He’s probably the least attractive of the group, or at least that what the student ratings suggest (he’s seen the websites, thank you very much). Victor will probably take top spot this year on the GPF reddit forums now that he’s been hired on. 

“I’m happy to be here working with you!” Victor says with a big smile that makes Yuuri’s heart flutter. 

He is so fucked. 

* * *

 

“Sooooo?” Phichit asks that lunch hour as they’re all sitting in Yuko’s Home Ec. classroom. 

Guang-Hong and Leo lean in to catch the gossip. Honestly, teaching high school is almost like being there again - there’s way too much drama going on all the time. 

“What.” Yuuri deadpans. He thanks Yuko when she puts a plate of fried rice on the table for everyone to dig into. Perks of having one of your friends as the Home Ec. teacher - ‘home cooked’ lunches. He shoves a forkful of the food into his mouth in order to avoid answering Phichit.

“Victor, that’s what,” Phichit prods anyway. 

“Yeah, what’s up with him?” Leo asks. 

“I heard he got the job because he knows Yakov personally,” Guang-Hong tells them conspiratorially.

“He’s a former figure skater, isn’t he?” Phichit directs the question at Yuuri. All eyes turn to him.

His little group of friends here at work knows about Yuuri’s dabble into figure skating. He wasn’t too bad in his younger years, thought about going pro too, but life got in the way of any big dreams like that. 

They all know, too, that he had put in his resume for the gym teacher position. It’s not like he doesn’t have a good position now, but most teachers have one subject they teach, and Yuuri’s in this weird place where he teaches the elective class ‘Dance’, and the grade 10 section of Japanese. Dance isn’t even a full set of classes because all the years are stuck together in the class like Band. Because of his strange position, he’s been worried since he was hired at the school that he’s first on the list to be fired. Getting the gym-teacher position would have made him feel more secure. Besides, it’s not like he isn’t qualified. 

“He’s Yuuri’s old celebrity crush,” Yuko tells them when she notices Yuuri is completely ignoring the question. 

Yuuri glares up at Yuko. He doesn’t need that information turning into gossip the teachers share with each other because without fail, it will reach Victor. 

“Wooooow, Yuuri actually had the hots for someone?” Leo whistles low. 

Yuuri turns his glare to the Spanish teacher. He’s not surprised that it’s such a revelation. He’s been quite adamant for years that he’s pretty close to being asexual. He doesn’t mind the idea of having a relationship with someone, there just hasn’t been anyone that’s ever really caught his fancy. Yuko, maybe, at one point; for the few hours before he found out she was married to the school’s shop teacher, Takeshi Nishigori. Of course there’s been passing attractions to people on the street, but he doesn’t have the time, or effort really, to spend getting to know these people. He’s happy just living by himself, working at GPF, and occasionally teaching some ballet classes at Minako’s studio. He doesn’t need a relationship to complicate things. 

“It was years ago.” Yuuri tells them. 

“You sure?” Guang-Hong asks, “because from what I can tell, he’s still hot.”

“Oooo,” Phichit grins, “Looks like someone else is encroaching on your territory, Yuuri!”

“Don’t you have band practice right now?” Yuuri interrupts him. The sooner he nips this whole ‘Yuuri having a crush on the new teacher’ in the bud, the better.

“Nah, it’s Wednesday.” Phichit says, checking his watch. “I’ve got a bit of time before the Jazz band shows up to practice.”

“We’re not making fun of you,” Guang-Hong say, leaning back in his chair and resting his old sneakers up on the table. Yuko swats his legs so he doesn’t get dirt on the prep tables they’re eating on. Yuuri wishes that he could have a laid back attitude about everything like Guang-Hong does. But that kind of attitude probably comes with being the school’s Drama teacher. The kids love him too. 

“I know, I just… we have to work with him. It’s better if I don’t like him.” Yuuri admits. There’s nothing as demeaning as working next to your idol, so he’s going to try and stay as far away as possible. Even though he had been working up the courage to ask the old PE teacher if he could spearhead the after-school figure skating club next year, with Victor here, there’s no point in asking because he’s obviously more qualified. He’ll just have to stick to his dance classes. 

“Just because you work with him doesn’t mean you can’t admire him from afar. Did you  _ see _ his ass in those slacks? God.” Yuko fans herself a little. 

Yuuri just looks down at his lap to hide his blush, his glasses slipping down his nose. He pushes them back up and clears his throat. “It’s just a crush. It’ll go away soon enough.”

“If you say so,” Phichit says quietly. He knows better than anyone the lengths Yuuri will go to to self-deprecate. 

“Oi, hate to eat and run,” Guang-Hong says, rising, “but I’ve got to set up for next period.” He places a hand on Yuuri’s shoulder. “Hey, you can still help out with choreo after school today, right?”

“Hmm? Oh, right. Yes, of course.” Yuuri likes to help out with some of the dance routines for the musicals the drama department does every year. Yuuri’s a little more classically trained than Guang-Hong (who mostly only knows broadway) but sometimes that’s useful to them. It’s nice to feel needed by the other teachers anyway, so Yuuri doesn’t complain. 

“Ahhh, I suppose I should go meet up with the jazz band,” Phichit says a little forlornly. He loves teaching band and the extracurricular bands he helps with, but it’s so rare that they get to talk about Yuuri’s love life, he’s probably put out that it has to end so quickly. 

“I’ll walk you over,” Leo offers. 

Soon it’s just Yuko and Yuuri sitting alone in the classroom. 

“So, are you going to introduce yourself to Victor?” Yuko asks finally, taking her pan to the sink to soak. 

“What? No. No, no way.” Yuuri protests, hold his hands up. 

“Why not?” She pouts. 

“There’s no need. He and I are on opposite sides of the school, we don’t share any classes. It’s… I probably won’t see him outside of staff meetings or coffee breaks in the staff lounge. No point in embarrassing myself more than I have to.”

Yuko frowns. “But you have the same interests. Maybe he’d like someone to talk to about things like figure skating. He’s probably pretty lonely because he’s so new here.”

“No thanks,” Yuuri says, standing. The truth is, he’s met Victor before. Skated in the same competition as him even. Yuuri didn’t even medal that competition and Victor hadn’t even recognised him as one of the competitors. He’s not going to relive that experience with him now when he has to work in the same building. 

Yuko’s about to ask him not to leave, but her husband takes that moment to walk in. “Yuko, babe, you’re a goddess,” he says, going straight for the table and grabbing the leftover food on the table and a fork. “Can’t stay long. You know how the shop is.” He smells like wood and metal shavings and it destroys any appetite Yuuri had left. Yuuri gives him a quick smile as he makes for the door. “Hey Yuuri. You should come by this weekend - we’re having a neighbourhood barbecue.”

“Ah, yeah, maybe,” he says, grabbing the classroom door handle. He slips out quickly before they can ask him any questions. He breathes a sigh of relief once he’s out in the hallway. He’s not used to having the attention turned on him. 

The hallway is full of students either sitting on the floor or milling around finishing their lunch and gossiping. It’s still winter, so most of them like to keep inside on the colder days. 

“Oh. My. Gooooood,” he hears one girl further down the hall say. “Did you seeeee the new PE teacher? Kill me. He’s so gorgeous.”

“I knoooooow,” her friend drawls. “He makes sweatpants look good.”

Yuuri swallows and walks towards his classroom. He has the worst of luck, however, because before he can reach it, Celestino and Victor are walking towards him. 

“Ah! Yuuri!” Celestino calls, waving at him. 

Yuuri sighs, but stops to meet them anyway. “Celestino.” Yuuri acknowledges.

“Ahh, I’ve told you, call me Ciao Ciao like everyone else,” the counselor asks. Yuuri used to call him Ciao Ciao just like the rest of the staff and students do. He used to go visit him quite regularly too, but since he’d spent a half hour a few weeks ago complaining to him about missing the PhysEd job, he’s been really reluctant to go back. 

“Sorry,” Yuuri apologises, but he doubts he’ll feel comfortable using his nickname for a while. 

“Have you met Victor yet?” Celestino asks, gesturing towards the tall silver-haired man. 

“You’re a student in my gym class?” Victor asks him. Both Yuuri and Celestino stare at Victor. Yuuri doesn't think he looks  _ that _ young. But just his luck, Victor isn’t ever going to see him as an equal, even here in school. “I can help you work off some of the extra weight no problem!” Victor announces with a smile. 

Yuuri blanches. 

Celestino looks flustered. “Ah, actually Victor, Yuuri is a teacher here.”

“Oh.” Victor looks surprised.

“He was in the staff meeting this morning.” Celestino says slowly. 

“Ah, I’m sorry!” Victor apologises, rubbing the back of his head. “There’s just so many people to get to know today. I’ll learn your name eventually, I promise.”

“Okay.” Yuuri says, moving to make it the last ten feet to his classroom door. 

Celestino grabs his arm lightly to keep him there. “Yuuri here teaches one of our Japanese classes.” He tells Victor. 

Yuuri wants to say that his main class here is Dance, but he doesn’t want to start any more conversation, so he just smiles and nods.

“That’s lovely.” Victor keeps smiling at him. 

“Sorry, gotta go get ready for class,” Yuuri lies and slips out of Celestino’s grasp to make a quick escape to his classroom. He doesn’t catch the frown on Victor’s face.

 


	2. Changes

It’s been four months since Victor arrived at GPF High, and now there’s barely a month left in the school year. Despite Yuuri’s best efforts, it’s been hard to ignore the man. He always seems to be around the school, laughing and joking with the students, jogging around the quad, joining all the extra curricular activities, and just generally always in his peripheral vision. Yuuri’s just been lucky that Victor has steered clear of his Dance classes and clubs. 

Yuuri has been hoping that being around Victor, being desensitized to him, would make any feelings he had for the man disappear, but it’s been quite the contrary. Instead, his heart still beats faster whenever Victor is near, he still blushes when Victor even talks in his general direction, and he shamefully dreams of him at night. 

To cut down these embarrassing moments to a minimum, he’s taken to keeping himself locked away in his classroom or his dance studio. His lunches with Yuko, Guang-Hong, Phichit and Leo have decreased dramatically. So much so that Phichit has taken to coming around to the dance classroom more often, asking Yuuri to listen to songs he’s either composing or thinking he might get his bands to play. Yuuri indulges him, glad to have a friend that is making the effort to keep him in the loop. 

Truthfully, since Victor arrived at GPF, Yuuri’s life has gone downhill. In February he received word from his mother back in Japan that their family dog died. Just because he hasn’t been home in five years doesn’t mean that the loss doesn’t hurt him. In fact, it makes it even more difficult because he can’t make the time to go home and mourn with everyone. It makes him miss his family.

Furthermore, the stress of teaching at school, the uncertainty about his future, the loss of his pet, and having to walk on eggshells around the school because he doesn’t even want Victor to know he exists has compounded and made him stress-eat even more. 

It’s honestly affecting his performance at school. He’s less enthusiastic with his students and has stopped helping his co-workers out of fear that his mood will affect their relationship.  Additionally, he fucked up royally by forgetting to get some key paperwork in on time, which means his Dance class isn’t able to go on a field trip he’d been planning. 

Really, the only place he feels he can relax is at home, tucked away in his bathtub. His family owns an onsen so he grew up around hot water and right now it seems that’s the only thing that can calm his nerves. He’s been contemplating either getting a dog to keep him company or finding an ice rink (that isn’t the one that Victor uses next to the high school) where he can spend hours skating. He does neither.

He doesn’t realise how bad it’s gotten until Principal Yakov calls him into his office before school lets out for the summer. Even Vice-Principal Lilia Baranovskaya is there, which is surprising because since their divorce, even though they run the school together, they do their best not to be in the same room.

“Yuuri,” Yakov starts. “We’ve had some complaints from the staff.”

Yuuri’s heart drops and his mouth goes dry. 

“It seems you’ve been reclusive since the new year. Your friends and co-workers are concerned for you. They’d also like to see you help out around the school a little more.”

Yuuri knew this day was coming. He’s not useful here, so it’ll be no problem for them to fire him. He doesn’t know where he’ll go after this. He could find another teaching job, sure, but he actually loves GPF. He loves his co-workers, he loves that he can work with his friends, he loves the students and their positive attitudes. He doesn’t want to leave. Tears spring to his eyes and he swallows hard to push them down. 

“Ah-” Yakov notices that he’s getting emotional. 

Lilia makes a ‘tsk’ing noise, which only makes Yuuri even more upset. He’s always been under the impression that she hates him. She was apparently a prima ballerina back in her younger days, and she’s probably disgusted that someone like Yuuri has that kind of position at the school now. 

“We’re not firing you, Yuuri.” He makes that explicit and Yuuri’s heart calms a little bit, but his palms are still sweating. 

“But, if it continues like this…” Lilia interrupts. “We know you can provide us with more, Yuuri. There’s a reason we hired you, but you’re just not showing us your full worth.”

“I understand,” Yuuri manages to get out, his head bowed deeply so he’s staring at his knees. When he’s stressed his Japanese mannerisms start coming back. 

“You have a month of summer vacation before you need to start getting ready for the next school year. I’d like you to take that month and decide if this job is really what you want to do.” Yakov tells him, laying his hands on his desk. 

“Yes. Of course. I will do my best.” Yuuri resorts to tried-and-true phrases, even if they aren’t completely relevant to the conversation. 

Yakov sighs. “When we hired you, you had a long list of teaching awards and your references were impeccable. Your University teachers gave you such high praise, but they were worried about you too. We hired you in spite of that - hoping you’d come out of your shell here, Yuuri. You were doing so well for the past couple years, but something changed after Christmas holidays. I’m not sure what it was, and I’m not asking you, but you need to figure out how to fix whatever it is. You have friends in this school who want to help you. Take their help.”

Yuuri looks up at Yakov and nods. Yakov’s right. He needs to decide if this is the path he wants to take, and if it is, he’s going to have to throw himself into it, his awkward feelings for Victor be damned. 

“That’s all,” Lilia says, standing up. “We’ll chat again before the school year starts, Mr. Katsuki.”

Yuuri stands up and looks between Yakov and Lilia before bowing low. “Thank you for your consideration. I aim to make you more proud of me next year.”

Both Yakov and Lilia have concerned looks on their faces when Yuuri leaves the Principal’s office , so he closes the door behind him.

* * *

 

Yuuri finds it difficult to finish his report cards and final academic year-end statements. He’s spent a week now mulling over what Yakov and Lilia had said and he still hasn’t come to any firm conclusions. 

On his first official day of summer break, when all of the report cards are finished, the school is closed and everyone’s left for summer vacation, Yuuri digs out his skates from the back of his closet. 

Before he can chicken out, he drives to an ice rink three districts over and goes straight to the locker room to lace up for the free skate they have. 

It feels amazing to get back on the ice. The cold air whipping past his face, the effortless glide across the ice, it makes him feel free again. All the insecurities he’s been feeling get left behind on the bench. By the end of the three hour skate, Yuuri’s feet are bruised and blistered, but he’s happier than he’s been in months. 

He goes straight to Minako’s studio that night and gushes to her about how the ice felt. She grins at him and listens intently. They drink a whole large bottle of sake between just the two of them. She asks him to teach two of her summer classes and he agrees.

After two weeks of dancing and skating, reliving his competition years, re-learning the routines he’s already done both on and off the ice, he finally figures it all out when he gathers the courage to watch one of Victor’s old skate routines. 

He wants to keep teaching. He wants to work for his students. He wants to teach dance classes and be an inspiration to the younger generation that passes through GPF’s halls. Just like Victor was an inspiration for him. 

Knowing that he wants that much out of life changes something in him. He throws himself into his work - he spends hours every day trying to get back into the shape he was in a few years ago. He teaches Minako’s classes with such enthusiasm that half of the families from the summer program sign up for year-round lessons with Minako. She begs him to teach at least once a week and he promises he’ll figure something out with school so he can. 

Yuko phones him up a week before the teachers have to be back at school to start getting ready. “Yuuri!” She says excitedly when he actually answers the phone. “Are you coming to the staff barbecue?”

“The what?” Yuuri asks, wiping the sweat from his brow. He’s doing some weight training outside in the noon sun. 

“There’s a get together for staff before the school year starts. Yakov’s rented a spot in Jones’ Gardens. You know, the place down by the river? We don’t have any new staff this year, amazingly, but he wants us to all spend time getting to know each other before we have to deal with the kids again. From what Emil was telling me, he’s started on this ‘work as a team’ schtick. But it’s free food, so what does it matter? You going to come?”

Yuuri sighs. He’s not really ready for the summer to be over yet. But, now that he’s focused on becoming a better teacher, he can’t just pass up this opportunity to show Yakov that he’s serious in his job. “Yeah. I’ll… I’ll be there. For sure.”

“Oh, I’m so glad.” Yuko gushes. “I was hoping you would want to come.”

“Hey, Yuko,” Yuuri starts before he loses his nerve. Yuko’s his friend, and just like Yakov suggested, he’d probably benefit from opening up to his co-workers. Yuko is a good place to start.

“Yeah, Yuri?”

“Would you… I want to show you something.” He says. 

Yuko’s quiet for a moment. “Okay. What is it?” She asks. She doesn’t sound concerned or uninterested like Yuuri thought she might be, but rather curious. 

“Could you meet me at the Devon’s Road ice rink at 2 o’clock today?” He asks. He understands if it’s too short of notice for her. She does have three triplet daughters to take care of. 

“Yes!” Yuko breathes happily. “Of course!”

“Oh. Ah. Good. I… I guess I’ll see you then?” Yuuri says, a little surprised she agreed so readily. 

“Okay! Perfect! I’ll bring my skates?”

“If you want.” When he finally hangs up with Yuko, his heart is feeling lighter. He’s confident he knows what he wants - and the first way to start achieving it is to share it with someone. 

His ultimate goal for this month is to eventually confront Victor and ask if he can help with the after-school figure skating club, but he’ll cross that bridge when he gets to it. First he has to be comfortable skating in front of someone he knows. 

Yuko is there right at 2 o’clock like they agreed. It’s just her and she’s dressed in a baggy sweater, and tights with shorts on top. She has her own figure skates dangling from her shoulders, laces tied together. Yuuri hasn’t bothered to shower since his workout since he’ll be working up a sweat here too. Yuko hugs him anyway. 

“Ah! It’s so good to see your face! I thought after the way last term ended you were going to be in a slump over the summer, but look at you! You’ve lost weight, haven’t you?” It’s true, Yuuri’s lost about 20 pounds in the past couple months from his intensive training alone. But he still has a way to go - he’s not back in the shape he’d like to be. “You look…” She holds Yuuri at arms length. “You look good.”

“Thanks,” he agrees. “I got tired of being depressed. I figured if I went back to the things I loved, I would find what I’ve been looking for.”

“I’m so glad.” Yuko beams at him. “So, what did you want to show me?”

Yuuri pulls away and leans down on his knees to pull off his skate guards. “Just something I’ve been working on.”

There’s only a couple people on the ice right now and Yuuri takes the time ask them if they’d let him skate something alone for a couple minutes, and they agree. 

He takes his spot in front of Yuko at center ice and takes a deep breath. It feels like he’s about the bare his soul for the first time in a long time, but his heartbeat is surprisingly steady.

The music swells in his head and his skates start slicing across the ice in long glides, the blades feeling like part of his body. The step sequences come easily to him because of his ballet training, but he’s gotten more powerful, especially since he’s been working on his jumps for weeks now. 

He tunes out all the distracting noises, focussing only on the ‘shhhtk’ of his blades on the ice and the memory of the music in his head. It’s probably the best he’s ever performed this routine, even when comparing it to the time he danced it in competition. It’s amazing how much your abilities can improve when you have confidence in yourself.

The routine is long and difficult and by the end he’s gasping in lungfuls of air, but each breath he takes as he freezes in the last pose feels like a icy-cold cleanse of his soul. 

And then the rink sounds filter back into his awareness. Yuko’s clapping and cheering, and so are the other people around the edges of the rink that stopped to watch. A blush immediately comes to his face. 

“Oh. My. GOD. Yuri!” Yuko screams and he skates over to her. “I had no IDEA you could skate like that. Why didn’t you say anything?! All this time I thought it was just an old hobby of yours.”

“Oh, well,” Yuuri scratches the back of his head in embarrassment. “I’m not that good.”

“Like HELL you are. That was fantastic. Competition quality!” Yuko assures him. “Why doesn’t anyone know you’re this good? I’m sure if Yakov or Lilia knew you were an athlete like this, they would have been happy to have given you the Phys Ed job.”

Yuuri frowns at that. “I- well, it’s not something I’m really open about. And, well, just because I’m good at this one thing doesn't mean it translates well to other physical activities.”

“But Victor-”

“Besides,” he says, cutting her off as he grabs his water bottle, “I prefer teaching Dance. I just wish it had a bigger role in the school, you know?”

“Oh.” Yuko says like she doesn't know how to respond. 

He takes a long drink, then offers his hand to Yuko. “You want to go for a skate?”

“Yes!” She agrees enthusiastically. 

It takes her only a quick couple minutes to get her skates on. She glides out to join Yuuri on the ice, flipping between skating forwards and backwards, testing her blades and balance. Yuuri remembers she told him at some point that she took a couple years of figure skating lessons. He joins her in a lap around the ice.

“How’s your summer been?” He finally asks. He’s a little embarrassed he hasn’t kept in touch since school let out.  

“Oh, good. Glad I get to spend some time with my daughters, you know?” Yuko tells him.

“Mmnn.” Yuuri agrees, even though he doesn’t really know. 

“I’ve been thinking of putting them into something like this. Figure skating, dance. Something active.”

“Minako has a great program for beginners,” Yuuri says.

“Oh. Minako? That’s the dance studio you work at sometimes, right?”

“Yeah. Minako’s  great. She-” he pauses, unsure of how to categorize their relationship.

“Do you like her?” Yuko asks.

Yuuri splutters and trips over himself a little. “What? No. Nothing like that. She’s way older than me. She’s just a friend. Like you, Yuko.”

Yuko grins at him. “I’m glad you have other friends to look after you, Yuuri. You deserve people like that in your life.”

Yuuri’s so grateful to Yuko he almost bursts into tears right there, but he looks away and blinks hard and long enough that the tears dissipate. But his feelings do not.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry Victor isn't really in this chapter, but I'm trying to stay kind of close to the anime. Please let me know what you thought!


	3. Picnic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You're actually going to get some Victor in this chapter. But mostly you're going to get the other skaters/teachers. I couldn't help myself - they just kept talking!

Skating with Yuko was a soothing experience, but things get too hectic after that for it to happen again. He has lessons to plan and he has Minako’s classes to finish teaching as well, so the next time he sees Yuko isn’t until over a week later at the staff BBQ they’ve been asked to attend. 

He’s wary about showing up, considering how things ended last term, but as soon as Phichit greets him with a big hug, he relaxes. 

“Wow, Yuuri, you’re looking fantastic. Summer break treated you well, huh?” Phichit comments as they find some seats around the fire pit. It’s way too hot to be sitting next to a fire, but the hot dogs that are cooking on top look delicious. 

“It was busy,” Yuuri tells him. “What about you?”

“Oh! I went back to visit family in Thailand for a month. It was so great to be back home. I miss the tropical trees and animals,” he says wistfully. 

“I saw your instagram. It looked beautiful.”

“Oi! Yuuri!” A voice calls from behind them. “Of course you’re over here waiting for a hot dog.”

Both Phichit and Yuuri roll their eyes at each other. They know even before they look that it’s JJ, the resident French teacher. 

“Hi, JJ.” Yuuri greets, turning to look at the younger man. 

“Oh, fuck me, Yuuri. You’re looking gooooood,” JJ says as soon as he gets a good look at Yuuri. 

“He looked just as good before,” Phichit says sourly. 

Yuuri gives thanks for Phichit every day they’re together, even if it’s just for the small things he does like that. 

“Yeah, but now he’s smoking,” JJ gives him a leer. “Not that I swing that way. But you know, can’t help but notice, right?”

“I trust you had a good summer,” Yuuri asks, steering the conversation away from his slimmed down body. He hasn’t been working out to ‘look better’, he’s been doing it for the stamina and strength. 

“Ah, you know. Stayed around the house, mostly. I was thinking of making a trip to France, but I think GPF is going to try a France trip later this year, so I didn’t think there was much point.”

“Aren’t you Quebecois?” Yuuri asks. 

“Yeah, but anywhere that speaks my language is good enough for me. Plus, Parisian babes? Yes, please,” JJ mimes swooning. 

“You’re getting a France trip?” Michele, one of the school’s Chemistry teachers, asks as he sidles up to them. “Even though I’ve been asking for an Italy trip for years?”

“What can I say?” JJ says, leaning on Michele’s shoulder, “I guess they like me better.”

“Or you’re sleeping with the head secretary again,” Michele says deadpan. 

JJ has the decency to look a little sheepish at least. “It’s not a new thing,” he tries to defend himself. 

Phichit and Yuuri ignore the two men and wave Leo over after he's pulled up in the parking lot. 

“Hey!” He says, sliding onto the park bench next to Phichit. “Anyone seen Emil?”

“No, why?” Phichit asks, leaning into Leo’s shoulder. 

“In his new pics on Facebook it looks like he doesn’t have his beard?”

“What. No.” JJ says, leaning over to look at Leo. “He wouldn’t do that. That’s his signature style!”

“Check for yourself,” Leo says, pulling out his phone, opening his Facebook app and handing it to JJ. 

JJ peers at the phone, scrolling slowly with Michele looking over his shoulder. “This is weird…” He says. Yuuri tries to catch a glimpse of the screen too, but JJ’s holding it too far away. He likes Emil. He’s always been nothing but kind to Yuuri. Mostly everyone at school likes him because, although he’s teaches Computer Technology classes, he’s always happy to help everyone with any tech issues they have. Yuuri’s had to rely on him several times. 

Yuuri smiles at the other teachers as Leo points something out on his phone to JJ and Michele, laughing, while Phichit is trying to draw Leo’s attention back to himself. 

“Whatcha looking at?” A voice comes from their right. Leo and JJ nearly jump out of their skin as they turn to face Emil, who’s grinning at them, with a full beard. 

“It’s still there.” Leo can’t help himself from saying. 

Emil laughs loudly at that, catching on quickly. He strokes his beard and grins widely at the group. “Of course. I had to shave it off for some scuba diving I did in Mexico, but it grows back pretty quick.”

“You shoulda let us see you without it!” Leo whines. “You’d look totally different.”

“Do you think we could get the kids to fundraise to have it shaved off again?” Phichit asks.

“YES,” JJ agrees wholeheartedly. “My French 30 class would love that.”

“I thought we were talking about doing a ‘pie your teach’ fundraiser?” Yuuri asks. 

“Ahhh, riiiight, right.” Leo sighs. “Maybe we can split them up between semesters? I just don’t want to choose between them - JJ pied in the face or Emil shaved.”

“Hey. Who says I’ll be the one pied in the face?” JJ snarls, shoving Leo’s phone back at him. 

“One can dream.” Leo smirks at him. 

“Oi. What’s up?” Guang-Hong interrupts the second-language teacher’s feud. He’s dressed really casually in ripped jeans and a dirty hoody. 

“Wow. I thought you wanted to work in Hollywood. Not gonna get there with that look,” JJ mocks him. 

Guang-Hong shrugs. “I was out building my deck. Leo phoned me on his way over - I totally forgot we were doing this.”

“Who else are we missing?” Leo asks. 

“Yuko’s not here yet,” Yuuri provides. 

“Where’s Sara?” Emil asks Michele. 

That earns him a glare. Michele is overprotective of his sister to a fault, and it’s not quite one-sided either. The two of them went through the Education program together in University and worked out a deal with Yakov to let them both teach at the same school with Michele teaching Chemistry and Sara, Biology. 

Rumour from the students is they plan their curriculums around each other so subjects from each class are linked. It’s a little weird, and a tad concerning, but seems to have worked in helping the students get good marks, so no one in the administration is complaining. 

But, despite it all, Michele is convinced it’s going to either be Yuuri or Emil that steals Sara away. Yuuri likes Sara, sure, as a good coffee-break companion. But he really hasn’t had too much interaction with her outside of that. 

“She came with me,” Michele says, but adds, “I saw Mila entertaining her, Georgi and Minami. Of course, Seung Gil came too, but he’s just hanging around not talking to anyone.”

“So we’re just missing the Nishigori’s, Chris, and Victor?” JJ asks. That should be it for the ‘youth group’ as the rest of the staff like to call them. It’s not an unfair label because they do have a tendency to hang out together. It’s probably because they have the same life-interests at the moment. Or because they actually have a grasp of social media. The younger teachers hang out together because most of their ‘outside work hangouts’ are planned through group chats - something the other teachers have never gotten used to. 

“Hey, I heard that Victor and Chris got really close last year. Anyone know if anything’s happening between them?” Leo asks the group.

“Nah. Just seen them getting chummy after work in the gym when I’m holding wrestling practice,” JJ tells them. “Apparently they work out together, so I’m not surprised?”

Yuuri swallows hard at that. He’d almost forgotten that he might have to face Victor today after months of ignoring him. 

“Hey, speaking of work, are we doing our annual ‘go out and drink after the first day of class’?” Phichit asks.

“Of course,” Guang-Hong says. “Make an event.”

“Ahh, why?” Leo asks. “No one ever actually looks at that shit. Just send out a group chat.”

“I’ll have to make a reservation at the bar anyway, so I might as well make the event,” Phichit says, tapping out something on his phone.  

It’s only a few moment later that Yuuri gets a buzz on his phone that he’s invited. 

“‘Fuck Work, Let’s Drink’?” JJ reads off. “Wow, real classy Phichit. Don’t let the office staff see that.”

“Did you really already send out an invite to the annual ‘drink so we forget the year to come’ party?” Mila asks as she and the rest of the crew make their way over. 

Leo’s about to comment when all of their eyes are drawn towards the flashy silver Mercedes coupé that’s pulling into the parking lot next to Guang-Hong’s car. 

“Who’s that?” They all ask, echoing the sentiment Yuuri is feeling. 

The car shuts off and everyone waits to see if it’s one of the teachers, or just some lost passerby. Out steps Victor, and then Chris from the passenger side. 

Yuuri gapes at them. Victor looks like a model with his jeans, casual v-neck, and dark sunglasses. He pulls his sunglasses off and gives a wink at the group. 

“Wow, wow, where’d you get this beauty?” Georgi asks as he walks up to greet them. Half of the guys go to faun over the car too. 

Phichit gives Yuuri a nudge. “Hey, ready for that hotdog now?”

Yuuri’s glad for the interruption, and he and Phichit take the opportunity to fill up some paper plates while everyone else is distracted. 

Yuuri’s taken a bite of his hotdog when Yuko rushes up. “Oh my god. The babysitter cancelled!” She starts off by saying. 

“That's too bad,” Yuuri tells her around the bite in his mouth, but it obviously comes out muffled because Yuko just gives him a weird look. 

“I had Takeshi stay at home with the girls. Did you save me any food?” 

Phichit and Yuuri look at each other. 

“Nope, sorry. Didn't know if you were going to make it or not,” Phichit answers instead of Yuuri this time. 

“Crap,” she mutters, looking at the lineup of teachers waiting for food. “Ah, I'm starving too. I'll just have to wait in line.” She presses a quick kiss to Yuuri’s forehead, then trots off in the direction of the line. 

“Did you two spend a lot of time together over the summer?” Phichit asks before taking a bite of his burger, ketchup dripping off it and onto his plate. 

“Not really, no,” Yuuri says after swallowing, touching the spot Yuko kissed. “I've been keeping to myself mostly.”

“That's the Yuuri I know and love! At least I didn’t miss out,” Phichit teases. 

“Any plans for the school year?” Yuuri asks, unsure if he should tell Phichit about the soul searching he did this summer. 

“Ah, well, there's a couple good competitions coming up this season, so I'll be doing a bit more touring with the bands this year.”

“That's good. Anywhere the kids will enjoy?”

Phichit shrugs. “There's one near Disneyland I'm trying to get funding for.”

“They'd love that,” Yuuri agrees. 

“What about you? Looking at any school trips this year?”

Yuuri's about to answer, but he catches a glimpse of Yuko in the line, standing next to Victor. 

Victor’s hair is pushed up out of his face at odd angles by his sunglasses, but his eyes are shining with interest at something Yuko is saying. 

“Still not over him?” Phichit asks. 

“Has he  _ ever _ been over him?” Guang-Hong asks, joining them. 

Yuuri blushes, having been caught staring. “Of course I am,” he tries to deny. 

“Which is why you've barely said three words to him since he started working at GPF seven months ago.” Phichit teases. 

“I just- it's not-” Yuuri tries to find the words, but it's hard to deny. He did spend the rest of the school year going out of his way to ignore Victor. He sighs in defeat. “What would I even say?” Yuuri asks them for help. 

“How about ‘Hello’?” Guang-Hong suggests. 

“Now's your time to practice,” Phichit says quickly before shouting across the picnic area, “Victor! Over here!”

Yuuri’s eyes go wide in panic as Victor turns at the sound of his name and happily walks over when he sees Phichit waving. “What're you doing?” Yuuri hisses at his friend. 

“Helping you out,” Phichit says playfully. “Victor! Good to see you!”

“Ah! Phichit! It's been too long,” Victor says, smiling at them. 

Yuuri can't help but stare at him. He's far more gorgeous this close than he is across the school hallways. His skin is tanned from summer vacation and his blue eyes glitter in the afternoon sun. 

“Ah, this is going to be embarrassing,” Victor says, leaning in a little so he isn't overheard by some of the other staff that milling around. “But, can one of you tell me what GPF stands for? I've been working at the school for months now but no one has told me.”

That makes Yuuri and Phichit snort in laughter. Guang-Hong just rolls his eyes. 

“Great Picnic Food,” Phichit laughs, holding up his half-eaten burger. “Or, you can go with Yuuri’s classic one: Gonna be a Puzzle Forever.” 

“No one knows what it stands for,” Guang-Hong takes pity of Victor and explains. “Some of the staff like to take shots at it, but your guess is as good as any.”

“Ah, really?” Victor looks surprised. He then turns to glare in Chris’ direction. “Chris was just making fun of me. He said I wasn’t doing a good job if I couldn’t even say the name of the school I worked at.”

Even from this far away, Yuuri can see the exaggerated wink Chris is giving him. Maybe there is something going on between the two of them - they did show up to the picnic together. Chris gives Victor a little ‘come here’ finger waggle, and Victor sighs. 

“Well, thank you, but I guess I should go back - Chris is saving me a spot in line.” He smiles at all of them again and then jogs back over to Chris and Yuko. 

“And you still didn’t say ‘hello’,” Phichit sighs at Yuuri. “He’s pretty approachable, right? It shouldn’t be too hard.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Yuuri mutters and shoves more of his hotdog into his mouth so he doesn’t have to talk about it anymore. He watches as Yuko leans into Victor, showing him something on her phone. It’s probably pictures of her triplets - she whips those out for everyone. 

Yuko doesn’t end up joining them until both Yuuri and Phichit are finished eating. “Whooo,” Yuko sighs, chomping on a celery stick. “Isn’t it hot today?”

“Yeah, but you have to enjoy the summer while it lasts,” Phichit says, stretching tall enough his shirt rides up. 

“I wish there was some way to cool down, though…” Yuko says slowly. “Hey, Yuuri, how about-”

“No.” Yuuri cuts her off, point a finger at her. “No way. Don’t try that.”

Yuko smiles sheepishly. Yuuri knows exactly what she’s trying to do - she wants him to take them all to the ice rink and show off his skating.

“Try what?” Guang-Hong asks, looking between them. Phichit gives them the same confused look. 

Although Yuuri had gained enough courage to show Yuko what he was working on, it doesn't mean he’s ready to share it with his other friends. “Maybe another time,” he says meaningfully.

“Fine,” Yuko pouts. “But Victor-”

“Ah,” Yuuri says with surprise, looking at his watch. He doesn’t mean to interrupt what she’s saying, although he’s glad he has an excuse, “I have to go.”

“Really?” Yuko says, glaring at him. 

“No, I do. I’m sorry. I’m still teaching classes for Minako. I forgot I was covering one of her shifts today.” It’s not a lie, Yuuri really does have one of Minako’s classes to teach today, and pretty soon at that. It just so happens that Victor is walking this way and now is the perfect time to escape. “I’ll see you at orientation day?” He asks them.

“Of course,” Yuko sighs. “But you’ll have to talk about this sometime!” She calls after him as Yuuri hustles his way to his car.

* * *

 

“So, can we talk about it now?” Yuko asks as she and Yuuri stand in the cafeteria, watching as the new Grade 10’s wander around the school aimlessly, trying their best to learn where everything is during Orientation day before they’re thrown into the thick of things when school actually starts. They’ve been put on ‘agenda duty’ - handing out school agendas to the students after they finish with their student ID card pictures. 

“Talk about what?” Yuuri feigns innocence. 

Yuko gives an exasperated sigh. “Are you going to talk to Victor and ask to help out with the figure skating club? I’m sure he’d be more than happy.”

Yuuri’s thought about it long and hard: whether he’s willing to work next to his idol doing the activity he’s famous for. And although it seemed like a terrifying option, Yuuri’s sure in his conviction - he’s going to be useful at this school, at his job, no matter what he has to do. “Yeah.” He finally says after a pause. “I’m going to talk to him.”

“Finally,” Yuko breathes in relief, she says it more for herself and then Yuuri. 

There’s a couple minutes pause as they hand out some agendas and point students in the direction of the next activity they’re supposed to complete. 

“We still don’t know for sure that he’ll say ‘yes’,” Yuuri reminds her. 

“Ah. Why not?” Yuko shrugs. She hands out a couple agendas to students that are passing by. 

“Because it’s Victor. Who actually did figure skating professionally,” Yuuri reminds her. “He’s better suited as a coach. He doesn’t really need extra help.”

“Yeah, but you have dance experience. And figure skaters, the good ones at least, have to take dance.”

Yuuri shrugs at that because it’s true. It doesn’t mean that Victor will ask his students to go through that, though. It is just an after-school club. 

“Besiiiides,” Yuko slurs, making her voice a little timid, “At the picnic last week I showed Victor that video I took of you skating and he was impressed.”

Yuuri drops the agenda he’s holding. He turns, his hands shaking, to look Yuko in the eyes. “What?”

“When you took me out the the rink a few weeks back, I took a video of you skating,” Yuko says, biting her bottom lip. “I just wanted a souvenir! It was so happy that you wanted to show me something so personal, I wanted to save something from it so I could look back on the moment!”

It’s a sweet thought, it really is, but right now, Yuuri is only mortified. Victor saw him skate. 

“But it’s okay, right?” Yuko asks, getting anxious. “Because you were going to show him anyway!”

“I- I wasn’t going to actually skate for him,” Yuuri says in a small voice. “I was just going to ask.”

“What, really?” Yuko asks, surprised. 

“But he- you- you showed him?” Yuuri is humiliated. His ears are hot and he knows he has an embarrassed blush across his whole face. 

“Ah! I’m sorry! I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to!” Yuko apologises, realising that Yuuri is ashamed. “I was just trying to help!”

“I-” Yuuri swallows hard. “I have to go,” he says, backing away from the table. 

“Yuuri!” Yuko calls as he makes a break  for the exit. He knows she can’t follow because someone needs to stay at the table. 

He walks quickly through the halls, moving fast so the new students don’t see his embarrassed face. What a good first impression. He heads directly for his dance studio because he has a small office in the back he can shut himself in for a good long while until he sorts out what he’s going to do. 

But, as soon as he throws open the studio doors, he’s stopped in his tracks. There, at the barre, is Victor, dressed only in ballet pants, doing a demi-plie. His toned chest is on full display and the black pants only accentuate the muscles in his thighs. “Ah Yuuri!” he says, straightening and smiling at him. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

“Uuuuuh,” Yuuri makes a speechless noise. 

Victor offers out his hand. “What do you say, want to work together?”  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry. I was thinking about making it a 9-12 high school like it would be in the States, but I just couldn't do it. You'll have to live with my Canadian weirdness. But GPF can be in any country you'd like it to be, and that's the beauty! Please let me know how I'm doing - it fuels my fire.


	4. Opening

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I took so long to get this chapter out. I have my last final on Wednesday, so I’ve been studying hard. I’ll be free soon, though, so I should get chapters out faster.  
> We finally get to meet Yurio!

Yuuri stands there, staring at Victor for a solid minute, mouth hanging open in shock.

“Ah, Yuuri?” Victor asks again. 

Yuuri backs out of the studio slowly, closing the door. His heart is racing and his vision is going a little fuzzy. Victor is in there, wearing almost nothing, asking if  _ Yuuri _ wants to work with  _ him _ ? 

He takes a deep breath and opens the door again. Victor is still standing there, but he’s got a little smirk on his face as he watches Yuuri. 

Yuuri blinks at him, opening his mouth to say something, but he’s still not sure what he should say. 

“What do you think? I think we’d make a perfect team,” Victor says walking over on bare feet to him. 

Yuuri swallows thickly, making sure to keep his eyes on Victor’s face and on nothing else. 

“Why.” Yuuri manages to get out.

“Why not?” Victor asks, putting his hands on his hips. “You’re a lovely skater, and probably an amazing dancer if you’re teaching, no?”

“I, um. Yes?” Yuuri agrees. He is a good dancer, and he’ll happily tell Victor that. 

“And as a male dancer and skater, you’re more aware of what kind of training someone needs off the ice, especially the extra effort a man must put in to tap into their gracefulness” Victor says. 

“I… suppose,” Yuuri agrees hesitantly. 

“So, you would be a perfect figure skating coach. Tell me, why didn’t you coach the after school group before?” Victor asks what Yuuri is dreading. 

“Ah, well, I’m not that good.” he says, looking down towards his feet. He gets momentarily distracted by Victor’s toes wiggling on the hardwood of the studio floor. “I was thinking about it, but then you came along, so I figured there wasn’t much point.”

“Why’s that?” Victor asks, his hand coming out to tip Yuuri’s face up to meet his by the chin. “You’re very capable.”

Yuuri’s breath hitches. Victor’s face is so close to his. His mouth is right there, inches from his own. And Victor is. Touching. Him. A blush blooms across Yuuri’s face and he’s flustered enough that he backs up out of Victor’s grip, and spins away from him, walking to the far side of the room to put some distance between him and Victor. “Ah, well, you know, I’m not a professional like you,” Yuuri admits. “You’re much more qualified to teach.”

Victor keeps smiling at him. “I think that’s where you’re wrong. Yuko showed me her video of you skating.”

Yuuri licks his lips nervously, and Victor’s eyes track the movement. “It was… it was nothing. Just something I put together over the summer.” Yuuri tries to downplay it. 

“It was beautiful. You were beautiful.” Victor tells him. “I found myself captivated by you - they way your body moves.”

Yuuri doesn’t know what to say to that, so he stands there, staring at Victor. The man looks sincere. 

“I want to put together a strong figure skating program here at GPF. And I want you to help me.” Victor says. 

“Okay,” Yuuri replies before he can stop himself. 

His answer makes Victor beam. His eyes light up and his smile widens. “Fantastic! I knew you’d agree.” He walks over to Yuuri quickly. “I thought we could start dancing together here,” Victor says, gesturing to the empty studio, “and then, on the ice.”

“Ah, what?” Yuuri balks at moving straight from having spoken probably about thirty words to this man in the seven months they’ve been working together to dancing together. 

“I want to see you move again,” Victor says excitedly. “We’ll start off with what you know, the barre, and then we can move to what I know, the ice. We’ll have to start a training regimen too. You’ll work out with me now, obviously. You’re in better shape than you were a few months ago, but you still have a bit more work to do if you’re going to skate with the students.”

“I’m going to what.” Yuuri says impassively. 

Victor gives him a sad face. “What? You don’t want to skate with me? Oh! Right, we should probably know each other better first, right? Tell me about yourself. What are your likes, dislikes, do you sleep naked, do you have a lover, do you-”

“No.” Yuuri says, and it’s a general answer for everything.

“No? Oh, well, let me tell you about myself, then, my last lover-”

“Stop.” Yuuri asks. “That’s not… I don’t want to-”

“Then, why not say how you feel with your body, when you can’t say it with words?” Victor asks, voice soft and low, a complete contrast to the eager questions he was just asking. He gently takes Yuuri’s hand and leads him out into the middle of the floor. 

Yuuri looks at them both in the floor-to-ceiling mirrors. Victor looks like a marble-statue model standing next to him. Yuuri is just in a comfortable t-shirt and some ballet pants. He worries about what Victor thinks of him, but when he catches Victor’s eyes in the mirror, he only has a soft, fond look on his face. 

Victor starts with a rond de jambe, and Yuuri follows easily. Yuuri starts a pique turn and Victor flows with him. In a quick moment, Victor has grabbed Yuuri by the waist and they chasse across the floor the other way.  

They stop at the edge of the room, Victor pulling Yuuri’s back tight against his front, staring at each other in the mirror. There’s a high flush on Yuuri’s cheeks. “Beautiful,” Victor murmurs in his ear. 

The moment is ruined when the door opens. Yuuri breaks away from Victor quickly, turning to see who it is. A young boy, probably a new Grade 10 peeks into the room. He looks from Victor to Yuuri and back again. “Tch,” he says, then closes the door again. 

Yuuri’s heart is fluttering a staccato tattoo against his chest. He wonders what he’s doing - what Victor’s doing here. “Ah, I have to go back and help Yuko,” Yuuri says, turning away from Victor. 

“So soon? No matter,” Victor says, rolling with it. “The year has barely started. We can meet up for lunch on the first day of class and work on our ‘plan of action’,” Victor looks enthusiastic, and Yuuri meets him halfway. 

“Okay. Lunch,” he agrees. 

Victor goes to the corner of the room where he grabs a shirt off the floor and throws it on. It’s another v-neck shirt that shows off his collarbones. It’s almost as tempting to Yuuri as his bare chest. “I should be going back to the gymnasium anyway,” Victor says. On his way out of the studio, Victor winks at him.

He leaves still just wearing the t-shirt and dance pants. Yuuri marvels at the confidence the man must have to walk the halls of a high school wearing those. 

Yuuri sighs, placing a hand over his heart in an effort to slow its race. He should be getting back to Yuko. It was rude of him to leave her alone like that. And he’ll have to apologise not only for running away but also for being upset about her showing Victor the video because it looks like it will turn out for the better. 

He’s on his way back to the cafeteria when Yakov steps out of the doorway of the admin office. “Ah, Yuuri, I’ve been looking for you.”

Of course. He should have been expecting this - he was probably supposed to talk to Yakov weeks ago, before the semester was starting. Yuuri nods and makes his way over to the Principal. Yakov leads him inside the office, and then further back into his personal office. 

Yuuri takes a seat across from him, folding his hands together on his lap.

“So?” Yakov says once he’s settled in his chair. “I’m assuming you’ve come to a decision, then?”

Of course Yuuri has. He’s not the type of person to get this close to the beginning of the school year then decide to quit and leave the school scrambling for a new teacher. He doesn’t say that, though, just answers with a simple, “yes.”

“And?” Yakov prompts. 

“I want to stay on staff here. I want to work with you, with the school, and with the students. This year will be different,” Yuuri promises. 

“That’s good.” Yakov says, nodding appreciatively. “I do still want to remind you, though, that while we may have high hopes this early in the term, I am still concerned that what happened last year might happen again.”

“It won’t.” Yuuri says, but it’s something he knows he can’t fully promise. 

“And I hope it doesn’t,” Yakov agrees. “But, I would still like to suggest a full performance review at the end of the year. If you don’t live up to our expectations, Yuuri, then you might be suited better at a different school.”

Yuuri breathes deeply and nods. He knows that Yakov has to cover all his bases, but knowing that if he doesn't perform up to standard, or beyond, he might be let go is worrying. “I understand,” he says slowly. 

“Alright,” Yakov says, pulling out a piece of paper from inside a folder that’s sitting on his desk. He pushes the paper over to Yuuri and places one of his pens on top. “Just a formality, you see. I’d like it if you could sign and date it please, to say you understand your conditions.”

Yuuri looks up at Yakov incredulously. Having him sign a document? He must be in more trouble than he thinks if they’re resorting to legal measures. He moves the pen so he can read the document. It states in much plainer terms than Yakov was using that, should Yuuri not complete a satisfactory term, he will be terminated from the school. Lilia Baranovskaya’s signature is already at the bottom next to Yakov’s. There’s a just two blank lines left for Yuuri - sign and date. “I-” Yuuri starts, but he can’t find the words to express how much pressure this piece of paper is placing on him. 

“I have faith in you,” Yakov says. 

With a surprisingly steady hand, Yuuri signs.

* * *

 

The first day of classes arrives far too quickly for Yuuri’s liking. After his meeting with Yakov, he’s second guessing everything. He wonders now, even though he never has before, if his lesson plans are up to par. He wonders if he should get more involved in the day-to-day running of the school. He wonders if he should be kinder to his students so they give him better reviews at the end of the year. 

He takes the teaching awards he’s received over the years off his office walls and shoves them into a bottom drawer of his desk. It feels shameful for them to be displayed when he’s under such scrutiny as this. He doesn’t dare tell anyone about it, though. Even Yuko. It’s too embarrassing. 

The only bright spot has been the friend request from Victor and the smiley-face text message he received from him afterwards. 

He’s also gets CC’d in an email Victor sends to Yakov in which he asks for Yuuri’s assistance during his Grade 11 gym class. Apparently the curriculum requires Victor teach dance to them and he gushes about using Yuuri’s talents to help inspire the students. Yuuri also, apparently, doesn’t have a class to teach at the same time as Victor has his Grade 11 class. He’s not sure how Victor knows that. He sent his timetable to only Phichit. 

Yakov responds that he’s more than happy to allow Yuuri to help out with the class, as long as Yuuri has the time to spare. Without thinking about it too much, Yuuri replies that he will. 

His schedule isn’t that bad that he can’t put in a little extra effort. He has his usual double class of Japanese 10, his double class of Dance, and a half-credit Dance option as well. His extra work with both Phichit’s band class and Guan-Hong’s drama department are factored into his hours as well.

He’s lucky because his mornings are filled only with dance classes. It’s better this way because it means he can spend the morning working out and take a shower at lunch if he needs it. He has his one Japanese class in the afternoons. He’s already planning which days clubs will work best for him. He’s teaching dance classes at Minako’s Monday’s and Wednesdays, so that leaves Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays for everything else. Thursday is early dismissal too, so that’s the best time to have club activities. Things like dance are best left for after school’s finished - most kids don’t have the time during lunch hour to stretch, dance, and shower. 

He waits, though, because if Victor is serious about him helping with a figure skating activity, they’ll have to decide together which days are the best. 

Although he’s nervous and dreading how the term might end up, Yuuri is still excited the first morning to see who will be taking his Dance classes. 

There’re not a lot of boys that sign up for Dance as their option, and not to stereotype, but they usually fall into one of two categories: gay or looking to get girls. So, to say that Yuuri is surprised when he sees a scowling blonde Grade 10 boy sitting in amongst the girls is an understatement. The boy doesn’t fit into either category. From what Yuuri can see the boy already has a dancer’s body. It’s not unusual for serious dancers to take this class as an easy option, but so rarely are they boys. 

He always has his first impressions of the students - which ones will do well, which ones are going to take the class seriously or not, but he wonders what the student’s first impressions of him are. He’s dressed in yoga pants and a t-shirt. Since he has them for a double period today he’s going to jump right in, so he will need the ease of movement the clothes provide. 

Yuuri asks them all to sit on the studio floor. He pulls out the attendance sheet he printed this morning. He smiles at his students as he waits for them to quiet down. He knows it’s exciting on the first day to see who’s in the class with you. Once they’ve all quiet down enough, he introduces himself. 

“Good morning. I’m Mr. Katsuki. This is Dance 10, 20, and 30. I hope you’re in the right class.” He pauses to see if anyone has a panicked look on their face, but no one moves, so he continues. “Today, we’re going to talk about the syllabus, what kind of things we’ll be learning this term, and what kind of projects you’ll be creating. Then, we’ll start with some stretches - don’t worry, that’s all you’re going to do today, so you don’t need to change into your dance clothes.” 

He counts himself lucky that the school has allowed them to use the bathrooms across the hall from the studio as change rooms instead of having the whole class traipse down to the gymnasium change rooms and back. The bathrooms across the hall have a couple showers in them too, which is probably the only reason they were deemed acceptable enough. It does end up with quite a backlog for showers some days though, so he’s always careful to let his classes out much earlier than the bell. Fortunately, he has his own bathroom with a small shower attached to his office in the next room. 

“I need to take attendance first.” He looks at the list and he’s surprised to see the name ‘Yuri’ on the list, jumping out at him. He’s even more surprised when it’s the blond boy that answers when he calls the name. 

“Alright, I know some of you have heard the spiel before, but there’s some rules we need to lay down before we start class,” Yuuri tells them. “Firstly, you must show up to class dressed out, or, if you haven’t heard that term before, in your dance clothes,  _ before _ the bell. We get started right away, and if you’re late, you’ll lose participation marks.”

A couple students roll their eyes, but Yuuri presses on. “I made sure that you received your supply list last week before classes started, so I’m hoping that you’ve already bought your clothes. Nothing baggy, nothing offensive, nothing that restricts movement. And, of course, I’m expecting that if your hair is too long, it will be tied back every class.” He takes a look at the students. There’re only a couple boys and girls that have hair short enough it won’t have to be tied in a ponytail. “Yuri,” He calls on the blond boy, “I’m thinking that your hair is long enough I’d like to see it pulled back.” The boy just stares back at him. 

He sighs because it’s just his luck that the boy has a rough personality. He makes it through the rest of the rules, talks about the syllabus, takes a few suggestions that he might be able to add, and takes them on a tour of the studio and change rooms. 

Afterwards, he has everyone start stretching. This is a good time for him to observe. Half of the Dance 30 students look pretty good - full range of flexibility. The other half obviously didn’t keep up with their stretching over the summer break. The Grade 10’s are the easiest to categorize. Most of them have limited range, and those that don’t are obviously the ones with prior training. He spots Yuri in the corner, stretching at the barre with his leg lifted high above his head. It’s impressive, really, that he’s that flexible. He still has a scowl on his face, though, so Yuri decides to take a chance. 

“Ah, Yuri Plisetsky, right?” He asks, coming up to him. 

“Yeah.” The boy says. 

“If you have a few moments, could you stay after I let everyone go, I just want to ask a you a couple questions.”

“Really?” The boy almost snarls. “Why?”

“Nothing bad, I promise,” Yuuri placates him. He moves on to continue to observe the class, but he can feel Yuri glaring at him the whole time. 

Yuuri does as he promised - he lets them out early after they’ve done some stretching. The young Yuri hangs back, backpack slung over one shoulder, looking like he wants to leave with the rest of the class. 

“So? What is it?” The teen asks when everyone is gone. 

Yuuri smiles at him. “I just need to make sure you want to be in this class.”

“What. I’m here. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I don’t know. It’s not unusual for some students to be forced into this class by their parents. You look like you’ve taken dance before, so I’m not worried about that, but I am worried you might find the class a little boring.”

“Oh,” Yuri seems to lighten a bit at that. “No. I- I like dance. Well, to a point. I want to do figure skating,” the boy admits a little sheepishly. “But… well, money at home is tight, so I don’t really have the option of paying for actual training. So, I figured that if I took classes like this, I could get some practice in, you know?” 

Yuuri didn’t think he could be more surprised by this boy, but there it is. He wasn’t expecting someone so serious about figure skating to show up on the first day. “That’s great.” Yuuri tells him. “I’m helping with-” he stops himself because he’s not sure if he’s still helping Victor with the afterschool project. They’re supposed to have lunch today to discuss it. “Ah, well, there’s a figure skating after school program here, so if you need extra practice, I suggest you join.”

“Really?” The boy's face lights up, but then he seems to realise that he's getting excited, so he goes back to frowning. “Cool. Whatever. I guess I could sign up.”

Yuuri has to hide his smile because the younger Yuri probably won't appreciate it. “I'll talk to Victor about it today and I'll let you know more tomorrow after class,” he suggests. 

“Victor Nikiforov is the coach?” This time Yuri is really excited and it doesn't seem to fade. “I watched him when I was really young.”

“Me too. He was quite something, wasn't he?”

“Hey. Don't steal my coach,” Yuri starts glaring at Yuuri again. 

Yuuri doesn't have the heart to tell him that he might be helping out too. It's not like Yuri won't have to train with him as well.

* * *

 

“Victor,” Phichit says, cornering the older man in the staff room before classes start on the first day. 

“Ah! Phichit!” Victor greets. “I just realized, GPF must stand for Gaining Pretty Friends because I've only met attractive people here.” 

“Don't try to flatter me to get out of this,” Phichit ignores the compliment. 

“Out of what?” Victor asks, pouring himself a cup of coffee. 

“Yuuri,” Phichit says and Victor freezes. 

“Ahh, Katsuki, the dance teacher, right? What about him?” Victor feigns innocence. 

“He's my friend and I want to ask you what you're doing.”

“I dunno what you're talking about,” Victor mutters as he drops a single spoonful of sugar into his coffee. “I just asked if he wanted to work with me on the ice skating after-school program.”

“What?” It's Phichit’s turn to be confused. “You asked him to work with you?”

“Yes?” Victor asks, unsure if he should have said anything. He was worried Phichit was going to tell him Yuuri felt pressured to say ‘yes’ to his proposition. He did come on strong and Yuuri doesn’t seem to the type to confront someone directly. 

“Really? What did he say?” Phichit asks, suddenly curious in how this played out. 

“He said yes?” Victor says slowly, dumping another spoon of sugar into his coffee. He looks warily at the band teacher. 

“Really?” Phichit says, leaning on the counter. “I wonder why he didn’t tell me.”

“What were you going to talk to me about then?” Victor asks. 

“Ah. Well.” Phichit flounders for a moment. He’s still hung up on Yuuri actually talking to Victor, and even more surprised that Yuuri said yes to working with Victor. He didn’t think anything like that would happen. 

Victor stares at Phichit and Phichit stares back at him. Victor stirs another spoonful of sugar into his coffee. 

Phichit realises that outing Yuuri’s feelings towards Victor probably isn’t the best thing to do if they’re going to work together. “Nothing,” he decides to say. 

“Oh. Okay.” Victor says, wondering if he should pry and find out what exactly Phichit was worried about. He raises his coffee for a sip and has to spit it right back out. It’s far too sweet. By the time he’s dumped it out and gotten his usual black coffee Phichit has disappeared. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly know nothing about anything. I don’t practice ballet and I don’t work in a high school. It’s pretty much all made up.
> 
> Let me know if you liked this, it inspires me to write for you.


End file.
